Nato should be prepared for bad news from Ukraine: Jens Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO should be ready for bad news from Ukraine, TASS reported, citing his interview with ARD television.

"We should also be prepared for bad news," he said, when asked if he feared that the situation in Ukraine would worsen in the future. "Wars develop in phases. But we have to support Ukraine in both good and bad times."

Stoltenberg stressed the importance of enhancing ammunition production, acknowledging the inability of NATO countries to meet the rising demand. He noted Ukraine's current "critical situation" but refrained from suggesting specific actions for Kyiv to take, as reported by TASS.

"I will leave it to the Ukrainians and military commanders to make these difficult operational decisions," Stoltenberg said.

He also spoke on the challenges faced by the European defence industry.

"One of the issues we should address is the fragmentation of the European defence industry," he said.

The NATO chief also highlighted that promoting increased ammunition production is in the best interest of Europe and contributes to job growth in the industry. He emphasised the importance of preventing a surge in ammunition prices following the rise in demand. Stoltenberg mentioned that there haven't been any noteworthy developments on the battlefield in recent months and refrained from providing a forecast for future events.

"Wars are inherently unpredictable," the official said. "But we know that the more we support Ukraine, the faster the war will end," TASS reported.

Putin's decree was released by the Kremlin and took force immediately. It brings the strength of the armed forces to 1.32 million service personnel and increases the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million, Al Jazeera reported.